Reviews

Barnyard

Some of these games require squirting milk from your udders in pseudo-combat sequences. Apparently, by donning a pair of sunglasses, your identity is hidden and it is safe to mark your territory in such a manner. Squirting random creatures causes them to yell out "Eew!" (and it is sort of disgusting when you think about it), and it will knock out enemy creatures like raccoons and coyotes. In fact, milk is an important aspect of your daily life at the farm, not just as ammo, but as an ingredient in the various recipes you can ask Pig the pig to prepare. You can also churn up some cream or butter by filling up jugs in the barn and shaking them. During the day, you'll find recipes under rocks throughout the farm and surrounding areas, and once armed with the formula and the ingredients, you take them to Pig, who will create a tasty concoction while spouting puns like "I'm bakin'!"

A successful meal earns you gopher bucks, as does bashing open random crates, earning mission rewards, or using gold rush tokens to unlock time-sensitive platforming sequences. You can only spend the tokens at night, when the gopher store opens up and the night barn is in full swing. After sundown, the barn becomes a club, where dogs play pool, chickens drink carrot juice and Pig mixes "mocktails" instead of cake batter. Root the rooster implores you to fix up the joint, so at nighttime, you'll climb the hill to the shop, where you can buy new games, decor and furniture for the barn with your gopher bucks.

The longer you play, the more areas you open up by earning gate keys as mission rewards. The explorable area is substantial, but fortunately, you can get around quickly on a bicycle. The bikes handle a little too loosely, but there are some decent enough physics behind the motion, and coasting downhill feels speedy, just as pedaling uphill requires some effort. In most of the areas, you are confined more or less to the road, and it would have been nice to be able to get off the bike and thoroughly explore the areas off the beaten bike path.

Over time, Barnyard gets tedious, since its pace is so relaxed. While there is seemingly a lot to do, the mini-games get tiring and you'll wish there were more missions to keep you busy. At other times, you'll wish you were more engaged with the story, which is cute but tame, as is befitting a Nickelodeon-produced title. Its big-screen counterpart is raucously funny, while the game version is more laid back and congenial, so if you were looking for the constant laughs of the Barnyard film, you'll need to be content with occasional chuckles in the video game.

Barnyard's production values are solid, if unspectacular. The character models are colorful versions of their big-screen counterparts, and the day-night cycle is particularly well done, since the lighting changes aren't as noticeable as they are in other titles. In fact, we like the soft, diffuse glow of the twilight and the bright sun of dawn. The environments aren't too detailed though, such as inside the barn, which is too uncluttered for anyone to believe this is a working farm. The voice acting is fine, even though there isn't that much of it, and the soundtrack (which reminds us of the Doobie Brothers' classic Black Water) is pleasant but repetitive. Sound effects are fine, but there is nothing noteworthy about them either way, and at times, the countryside is eerily silent.

It's no modern-day classic, but Barnyard is still a good choice for young gamers, with a nice unhurried design somewhat reminiscent of Animal Crossing. Of course, it's not as ambitious, and there isn't as much to do, but there's a reasonable 10 to 15 hours of gameplay nonetheless. Anatomically incorrectness notwithstanding, Barnyard is a perfectly fine family-friendly film tie-in that you won't absolutely love, but has plenty to like anyway.